Head Remedies – Watch out for the “NO”

“The mind always functions negatively. The very function of the mind is to negate, to say no.

Just watch yourself and how many times you say no during the day, and reduce that quota. Watch yourself and how many times you say yes – increase that quota.

By and by you will see just a slight change in the degrees of yes and no, and your personality is changing basically. Watch how many times you say no where yes would have been easier, where there was really no need to say no. Watch how many times you could have said yes but either you said no or you kept quiet.

Whenever you say yes, it goes against the ego. The ego cannot eat yes; it feeds itself on no’s. Say “No! No! No!” and a great ego arises within you.

Just go to the railway station: you may be alone at the window to purchase a ticket, but the clerk will start doing something; he will not look at you. He is trying to say no. He will at least make you wait. He will pretend that he is very busy; he will look into this register and that. He will force you to wait. That gives a feeling of power, that he is no ordinary clerk – he can make anybody wait.

The first thing that comes to your mind is “no.” “Yes” is almost difficult. You say yes only when you feel absolutely helpless and you have to say it. Just watch it! Make yourself a yea-sayer; drop nay-saying, because it is the poison of “no” on which the ego feeds itself, nourishes itself.”

Osho, quote from Pharmacy of the Soul – A Comprehensive Collection of Meditations, Relaxations and Awareness exercises and Other Practices for Physical Well-Being

The image above is a Yes/No Sculpture 2003 by Markus Raetz, below is a sketch for this sculpture. The morphing words, especially in YES / NO, merge two polarized meanings into one singular object. You start to realize, yes or no merely depends on how you see it and the polarities of yes and no appear contained in each other.